Marking Time by Marie Force

a tough situation.”
    “Jesus,” Reid said as they leaned against the white fence to watch a trainer work with a black thoroughbred. “I imagine so. What did you do?”
    “Well, Clare decided to end our marriage, which I guess was the right thing in light of all that had happened. But it was hard. We’d been married for twenty years—every one of them happy until all this happened.”
    “So you married Andi.”
    Jack nodded. “Three months ago. The babies arrived right in the middle of our wedding.”
    Reid hooted. “You’re kidding!”
    “Nope,” Jack said with a grin. “It was quite a day.”
    “Let me see, you have Kate and the twins… ”
    “Jill is nineteen and a sophomore at Brown. Maggie will be thirteen next month, and I adopted Andi’s son, Eric, who’s almost eight.”
    “I lost count.”
    Jack grinned. “Six.”
    Reid shook his head with amusement. “You sure have been busy since I saw you last. I’ve read a lot about your firm. You guys have made quite a name for yourselves. And Jamie married your sister. How about that? I remember Frannie visiting you in California.”
    “She’s hardly changed since then. They’re great together. They have twins, too. A boy and a girl who’re fifteen months.”
    “God, my life is so boring compared to y’all. All I do is work while the two of you are single-handedly populating the world. Eight kids between you!”
    “We have babies, Reid. We’re forty-six-years-old, and the two of us are chasing babies. Enjoy the boredom. Embrace the boredom.”
    Reid laughed. “It sure is good to see you.”
     
    Ashton drove Kate into the city in his still-new-smelling silver Saab.
    “Nice car,” she said.
    “Thanks, it’s the first thing I bought when I graduated from law school in May and went to work.”
    “Where did you go to school?”
    “I stayed right here and went to Vanderbilt for undergrad and law school. I thought about going out of state, but I didn’t want to leave my dad. I’m all he has.”
    He said it so matter-of-factly that Kate’s initial assessment of him went up a notch. Maybe he wasn’t as arrogant as he had come across earlier. “Where do you work?”
    “I’m an associate with a firm downtown that specializes in entertainment law. That’s what this town’s all about.”
    “But you don’t have to work, do you?”
    “Do you?”
    Kate laughed. “I guess not, but I can’t see living off my dad for the rest of my life. He’d never stand for that anyway.”
    “And you think mine would? He wanted me to come into his company, but I’ve always wanted to be an attorney.”
    “What does his company do?”
    “Mostly commercial real estate development. The company’s called RMD, Reid Matthews Development. You’ll see his signs all over town. He has a hand in most of the pies that are baked around here.”
    “And he has no need for an attorney?”
    “He has a stable of them. Maybe someday I’ll do that, but I want to do this for now. It’s a fun job.”
    Kate’s cell phone rang. “It’s my mom,” she told him. “Hi, Mom. Sorry I didn’t call. We got in at two in the morning.”
    “Everything went well?” Clare asked.
    “Yeah, it was great. No traffic and good weather. Dad’s friend Reid’s house is amazing. His son Ashton is taking me into the city right now for my first look.”
    “I’m glad to hear you got there okay. Have a good time, and call me when you get settled.”
    “I will. When are you heading out?”
    “Maybe Wednesday. I’ll let you know.”
    “Okay. Talk to you soon. Love you.”
    “You too, sweetie.”
    Kate closed her cell phone and turned back to Ashton. “Sorry about that.”
    “Don’t be.” He took the Green Hills exit. “I’ll show you where the apartment is.”
    “Oh, cool.”
    They drove through a beautiful area peppered with stately old homes, bars, restaurants, and shops.
    “There’s the Bluebird,” Ashton said, pointing to the famous café. “That and Mabel’s are the